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New clue to figure out Hotwire hotel

I don't know when this feature started, but when I was booking a MSP hotel 2 days ago, I saw that Hotwire now includes Tripadvisor rating on the hotels.

This is another tool to figure out what the hotel may be, beside matching amenities on betterbidding.com.

Don't just look at the Tripadvisor rating, but also the number of reviews it's based on. The hotel I saw has ratings based on 60+ reviews, and the only one on Tripadvisor with more than 60 reviews in Bloomington, MN is the Radisson.

I went ahead and booked the room, and no surprise. I got the Radisson.

I also use PL much more often than HW, and HW's prices are not that good. But sometimes, you just have to do what you have to do.

For example, for this MSP bid, it's not for myself, but a cousin who absolutely needs shuttle and proximity to MSP. The PL zone is too big and includes hotels that have no shuttle or very infrequent shuttle.

The discount ends up being only about 15%. It sucks, but what can you do?

I'm sure that Hotwire knows that savvy shoppers can figure out that the TripAdvisor ratings can narrow down the possibilities. You can shop packages, too, where the names of the hotels are provided, along with the ammenities. And, you can figure out the area with their maps.

I agree with djkbooks. They don't mind that some of us may have already figured out the hotel.

And look at PL. Even though many of us know how to use the "free rebid", they haven't closed that loophole. Fact is that the percentage of people knowing about it and doing all the research is small. They don't care.

My experience is that PL rates their hotels 1/2 a star lower than HW. So, actually if both PL and HW list a 3* hotel, the PL one is generally better.

PL 4* = HW 4.5*
PL 3* = HW 3.5*
PL 2.5* = HW 3*
PL 2* = HW 2.5*

For example, just last month for my trip to OK and AR, I got a La Quinta for HW 2.5* and a Courtyard for PL 2.5*. Courtyard is at least 0.5* star better than a La Quinta, and would generally be considered 3* by HW.